With each passing year, the security demands are increasing at airports leading to intense security checks. These security checks can cause a lot of nuisances to the passengers as they are often not airport ready.
We do know that you want to give that “chic airport look” when you reach your destination and you dress up keeping exactly that in mind. But if you need to minimize the time through those security checks, we’d recommend you to reconsider your jewelry choices.
Do Earrings Set off Airport Security Detectors?
Sure you can wear your earrings through the airport security check but with some limitations. You need to avoid huge and chunky pieces. Get rid of all the costume jewelry before passing through the airport security check if you don’t want to be caught in an unpleasant situation.
Earrings will set off those airport security detectors if they’re made from magnetic metals; which is pretty much the case for most of your jewelry items. Small piercings do not cause much problem. If you really want to pull off your favorite airport look, slide all that extra jewelry in your carry-on bag and adorn yourself later.
Chunky earrings are a huge NO
As stated earlier, chunky earrings and statement jewelry pieces should be avoided at all costs. Huge earrings will set off the alarm of the airport security checks. The type of metal of your jewelry doesn’t matter as much as its surface area. Anything that isn’t clearly visible or is chunky enough to hide something in it will most likely cause you trouble.
The security personnel will ask you to remove that bulky piece of jewelry, it will undergo a check, and so on. To avoid this situation, do not accessorize yourself with huge earrings on the airports. The least you can do is avoid wearing them on the security checks and save your time!
Put Your Jewelry In Your Carry-On
Saves Time
To be on the safer side, remove all those magnetic metal jewelry, and put them in your carry-on bag. If the alarm is set off due to the carry-on bag, the security guard will quickly take a look as to what is causing the problem without you having to remove every piece of jewelry one by one. It will be a problem for you as well as others waiting behind in the line.
No Jewelry Loss
Also, another advantage of putting all that in your carry-on bag is you wouldn’t have to worry about losing your stuff in that crappy plastic bin which mostly does happen when you’re rushing to grab your mobile and shoes from the conveyor. You don’t want to spend your trip regretting the favorite piece of jewelry you lost at the airport!
Metals That Set Off The Alarm
Most metallic jewelry will set off the walk through metal detector of the airport security checks. Your metal rings, cufflinks, necklaces and bulky watches will be a cause of those annoying alarms buzzing. The metals used in most cheap jewelry or say costume jewelry is magnetic and will trap you in an unwanted extra security check. Copper, brass, and aluminum lying under that shiny piece of jewelry of yours will also make a mess. So it is best to remove such items and slide them in your hand-carry as you reach the conveyor belt.
Can Airport Security Scanners Detect Gold Items?
The good news is that you can accessorize yourself with that fine metal jewelry of yours. Your gold jewelry will add a subtle glam to your look while being easy on those metal detectors. You must be wondering besides being a metal, why gold is not a problem for those walk-through metal detectors.
Fortunately, these metal detectors work on the principle of electromagnetism, and luckily, gold and platinum are not magnetic. It is very unlikely for gold or platinum jewelry to make the metal detectors react. At times, the metal detectors may detect gold but they are calibrated to ignore small amounts of this metal. So a gold earring and a gold necklace won’t do much harm!
Make Your Security Checks A Breeze
What you wear can cause you a lot of trouble at the airport. A basic guideline on how to accessorize yourself has been discussed above. Now let’s come to your outfit.
We advise you to suppress your love for all those baggy and loose-fit clothes for a day. It is very likely for a suspicious person to slide something notorious in your baggy clothes which may cause you a hell lot of trouble. Also, such clothes are checked more strictly for the same reason. They are used to hide all those fishy things. That’s why chunky jewelry aside from baggy clothing should also be avoided at the airport.
Wear something basic and easy, either it’s your dress or footwear. Keep your accessories as minimal as you can and save yourself from that extra 20 minute hassle on the security checks.
THE CRUX
Airport security is a nuisance if you’re not well aware of the security protocols of an airport. Be prepared beforehand for passing through the walkthrough security doors. Remove all the items that need to go on the conveyor belt before reaching the security check. These especially include your belts, watches, and chunky pieces of jewelry. Quality metals are ferromagnetic and hence, they do not cause any nuisance. So wear your gold or platinum jewelry if you want, but then again avoid heavy ornaments at all costs and make the security check easy for yourself as well as the security personnel!